16 



PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 



ding the benefits of vaccination to the Indian tribes. To which 

 end it was enjoined " to proceed to the country on the heads of 

 the Mississippi, and to visit as many Indians in that, and the in- 

 termediate region, as circumstances would permit." 



This expedition, to the account of which the present volume 

 is devoted, left St. Mary's on the 7th of June, 1832. As the 

 route through Lake Superior, and thence north-west, on the 

 waters of the Upper Mississippi, to Cass Lake, has been descri- 

 bed in a " Narrative Journal of Travels in the North-west," of 

 1820, heretofore published by the author, no details of the geog- 

 raphy of the country the;; passed over and described, or of the 

 ordinary incidents of a journey through this portion of the 

 country, will be given. A brief sketch, however, of the general 

 route, will serve to refresh the memory of readers whose atten- 

 tion has been before called to the subject, and cannot but prove 

 acceptable to all, who feel an interest in the developement of its 

 natural features and character. 



The village of the Sault of St Mary's is situated on the com- 

 munication which connects Lake Huron with Lake Superior, 

 fifteen miles below the foot of the latter. A strong and con- 

 tinued rapid, over shelving sand rock, interrups the navigation 

 for vessels. The water has been computed to sink its level, 

 twenty two feet ten inches, at this place. A portage exceeding 

 half a mile, enables boats to proceed beyond. The river above 

 has a brisk current, which is imperceptibly lost on entering be- 

 tween the two prominent capes, which form the opening into 

 Lake Superior. 



This lake, which is called Igomi, Chigomi, and Gitchigomi, 

 by the Indians, as the term is more or less abbreviated, is re- 

 markable for its extent, its depth, and the purity of its waters. 

 It lies in a bason of trap rocks, with alternations of the granite 

 and sand stone series. No variety of calcareous rock is present,* 

 and its waters are consequently free from impregnations from 



* Detached pieces of calcareous tufa were found, imbedded in the soil, at the 

 mouth of the river Brule, in 1832. 



